111th Congress, 2nd Session
The secession of South Carolina
December 24, 1860
On this date, the House received a letter announcing South Carolina’s secession from the Union. South Carolina Representatives John McQueen, Milledge Bonham, William Boyce, and John Ashmore authored the letter which declared that “the people of their State of South Carolina, in their sovereign capacity, have resumed the powers…delegated by the Federal Government of the United States, and have thereby dissolved our connection with the House of Representatives.” Representative James Blaine of Maine recalled that the “leave-taking (of Southern states)…was not undignified. There was not defiance, no indulgence of bravado.” Blaine noted that while a “few [Members]…marked their retirement by speeches bitterly reproaching the Federal Government; and bitterly accusing the Republican party…the large majority confined themselves to” retiring in a formal fashion. In addition to South Carolina, 10 more southern states seceded from the Union during the winter of 1860 and spring of 1861. Under the leadership of former U.S. Senator Jefferson Davis, the Confederate States of America formed in February 1861. The first shots the Civil War were fired on federal forces at Fort Sumter in April 1861.
Related Highlight Subjects
Cite this Highlight
Office of History and Preservation, Office of the Clerk, http://clerk.house.gov/art_history/highlights.html?action=view&intID=156, (December 07, 2010).For Additional Information
Office of History and Preservation(202) 226-1300
history@mail.house.gov
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The October 1861 Harper’s Weekly featured Members of the South Carolina delegation who had resigned their seats on Christmas Eve 1860.
Harper’s Pictorial History of the Civil War, October 1861, Collection of U.S. House of Representatives
Teaching Tip
War and Peace
Have students locate two highlight dates pertaining to either a war or military conflict. Compare and contrast the two entries and briefly discuss the role the House played in either American intervention or in a peaceful resolution.
